What Jen Did

Posted in Blogging.

More life through my Instagram lens…

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I bought this necklace from Spike the Punch – I’ve wanted one for ages but they sell out instantly, so as soon as I saw designer Elizabeth tweet about a new batch I clicked through as fast as my reflexes would allow. Nothing makes me smile more than shiny, sparkly jewellery. 

I often snap photos of my outfits when I don’t have time to lug my tripod down the street for a proper ‘photo shoot’. Here I’m wearing a vintage dress, Topshop hat, ankle boots c/o Sarenza and a Forever 21 belt.

When life gets hectic and I have too much work booked in/an overflowing laundry basket/an endless to do list (delete as applicable), I buy flowers. They cheer me up and weirdly, take away some of my stress.

… as does painting my nails! There’s something quite therapeutic about it, don’t you think? Here I’m wearing Models Own Nyla Nude with a Topshop glitter.

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I recently had a client meeting at The University of Leeds and took a few snaps while wandering around afterwards. I live in Leeds but went to The Met for uni (boo, hiss, etc) so this building always enthrals me. It’s just so beautiful!

Kate Nash’s ‘Made of Bricks’ is one of my favourite albums. Not a particularly ‘cool’ choice, but I love her angry girl angst and weird lyrics. Great for my bus journey to the studio, which often causes internal rage!

I bought these PJs in JFK airport on the way out of New York a few weeks ago. I was desperate for an original I <3 NY tee (of which I bought four!) and these managed to sneak their way in as I shopped. Love them.

Sukothai in Chapel Allerton is one of my favourite restaurants in Leeds – I adore Thai food and this place does it perfectly. A bit pricey but utterly delicious… I could go every week!

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If you follow me on Twitter you’ll know I recently won tickets to the Isle of Wight Festival through Oxfam and headed down there last Friday. My friend Clare and I were panicking after seeing the reports of chaos due to storms – some people spent 10 hours in their cars as the car park flooded and everything went to pot. Luckily we arrived without a hitch, dumped the car in the middle of a very muddy field and headed off to have fun!

The festival site was insane – I’ve never seen mud like it. In some places it reached the top of our wellies and people were getting stuck and falling over wherever you looked. We managed to pitch our tents in a relatively dry area and after a quick welly photo, headed to the Main Stage to catch some music.

We saw some absolutely amazing performances – Example, Elbow, Biffy Clyro, Labyrinth, Professor Green – but my favourites were Madness and Tinie Tempah. Two very different performances which required two very different dancing styles – if you’re not dancing like your Dad when Madness are playing, you’re doing something wrong – but both equally brilliant.

The sun shone, the cider flowed, I ate Yaki Soba while sitting on the grass and we had the best time. Although the weekend ended on a slightly less joyous note, as overnight rain on Saturday created a quagmire in the car park and after waiting two hours, we were jump started and then towed out by a tractor. But we still came out smiling!

So that’s what I’ve been up to lately – how about you?

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What to Wear in Morocco – Cox & Kings Holiday Wardrobe Challenge

Posted in Fashion, Travel.

The Cox & Kings Holiday Wardrobe Challenge finishes tomorrow and I’ve finally got my Pinterest board together. If you read my first post about the challenge, you’ll know I was invited to create a board based on my suitcase essentials for a holiday in Morocco. I gathered my inspiration, looked at countless images of Morocco’s breathtaking scenery, and came up with this.

what to wear in morocco

These are a few of my favourite pins from the board. The beautiful orange maxi dress is perfect for luxury holidays – the sumptuous, flowing fabric and bright, bold print give it a luxe feel, but it also offers more coverage for a modest, religious country. I’d team it with a pair of these retro Wayfarer sunglasses. I love the rusty orange colour but black’s so classic and the patterned ones are adorable… I just can’t choose so will take them all!

Many images of Morocco feature cool blues and turquoises mixed with rich oranges and deep reds. I searched for an item that combined these colours in a single piece and found this stunning Missoni scarf – silk scarves make great holiday accessories as they can be worn a multitude of ways (around your neck, in your hair, on your wrist, on your handbag strap…) and this one has all the colour of Morocco wrapped up in one piece. Gorgeous.

With nine items on my board, I started searching for something that combined the practical and the pretty – Morocco is rich with stylish influence but it’s also a religious country. Team that with very high temperatures and your daily outfit will probably be more about keeping cool and covered than ticking off the trends. These black chiffon culottes are light and airy enough to keep the heat at bay and the long length mean legs are out of sight. Culottes are also a key shape for SS12 and this classic black pair will work with anything, from a simple white tee to a loose printed blouse. They’re the 10th pin on my board and now on my real-life wishlist too (from Zara, if you’re interested!).

So that’s my Moroccan Holiday Wardrobe – a mix of floaty basics, leather accessories and pops of colour. The other bloggers involved in this challenge have created some amazing boards, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed for the decision next week. And while I wait for the results, I’ll be idly searching through Cox & Kings’ tailor made holidays and dreaming of my next (imaginary) destination… India, maybe? Or how about Brazil?

What do you think of my Moroccan Holiday Wardrobe? Anything you’d add?

Hey! This post is part of a competition entry. I haven’t been paid to post it, but I might get a holiday out of it. Plus, some of the links are tracked. Just FYI!

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What to Pack for a Festival – Beauty Products and Cosmetics

Posted in Beauty, Fashion, Travel.

This is the second video in my ‘What to Pack for a Festival’ series (and my second video EVER!). The first covered the clothing and accessories I’ll be taking to the Isle of Wight Festival this weekend, and in this one I’m waffling on about the beauty products and cosmetics that will be coming with me. Have a watch…



I exported this one in HD and it looks so much better than the first – I’m slowly getting to grips with a very unfamiliar format!

I’m now all packed and on my way to my friend’s house where I’ll be staying the night in preparation for an early start tomorrow to kick off the four hour journey. The lovely ladies from Oxfam have warned me that the festival site is very muddy and wet – great! Hopefully my Hunter wellies will see me through the weekend… have a good one!

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What to Pack for a Festival – Clothing and Accessories

Posted in Fashion, Travel.

If you read my post on Sunday you’ll know I was a finalist in Oxfam’s competition to win two tickets to the Isle of Wight Festival, and thanks to you lovely people, I won! So I decided to give vlogging a go and created a little (okay, ridiculously LONG and waffly) video about my festival packing. It’s basically me, sitting in my bedroom, boring on about a bag full of clothes. So if you’re into that kinda thing, watch away…

Be kind, it’s my first one! Oh, and if you’re wondering, I’m wearing a vintage dress, ASOS necklace and Topshop’s Ooh La La lipstick.

What’s in your festival backpack?

PS – Second video on festival beauty essentials coming soon!

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Dressing for Summer in the City

Posted in Daily Outfits, Fashion.

I’d like to start this post with a bit of a disclaimer – I am not the best person to ask about workwear. When I started my first job as a copywriter back in 2007, I worked in a small digital agency where it was acceptable to wear pyjamas at your desk. No, seriously. Since then, I’ve worked at various advertising agencies where a dress code is the last thing on anyone’s mind, and now I work for myself. And let me tell you, myself quite likes jeans, too-short dresses and glittery nail varnish.

So, I don’t really ‘do’ workwear. But I do work in the city, and I have lots of client meetings, which means sometimes I need a more polished look. The last few days have been surprisingly warm, and I’ve found myself lost that age-old fashion conundrum – what’s a girl to wear for summer in the city?

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Dress, By Malene Birger c/o Zalando | Leather jacket, Michael Kors via TK Maxx | Necklace, Primark | Flats, Ara c/o Sarenza | Watch, Michael Kors | Sunglasses, Jigsaw

This heavy jersey stripe dress is my go-to when I want something simple and elegant but still cool and summery. It’s By Malene Birger and was sent to me by Zalando –  I love the slightly A-Line cut and deep front pockets. I’d never paid much attention to the By… range before but it’s packed with classically-cut pieces in bright colours and cute prints. It’s a little more expensive than your regular high street – although this dress was £65, which I think is good value – but great for workwear and beautiful basics. I want it all!

When the weather’s warm I much prefer flashing my legs than my arms, so although the dress is quite short I’ve covered up with my favourite leather jacket. I didn’t actually have a client meeting when wearing this, but if I did I think I’d switch the jacket for a blazer for a slightly smarter look. Flats are more polished and pulled together than sandals, and a nice big statement necklace just finishes things off. Maybe not an outfit suitable for everyone’s summer in the city, but definitely one for mine!

What do you wear to work when it’s warm outside? How do you maintain a professional look while still keeping cool?

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